Fusilli pasta with wild boar ragu

Fusilli with wild boar ragu

Wild boar is a fairly common meat in Italy but less so the UK. It got a great flavour and is well worth the effort to source it. Great if you can get some but you can substitute beef for boar. I often make this recipe using sausages instead of minced mead. that you like. I often make this as a weekday dinner because it doesn’t take long to assemble the ingredients and I usually have sausages and brocoli to hand.

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 400g fusilli pasta
• 300g wild boar
• 150g frozen peas
• 1 large red onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• Broccoli, chopped finely
• Fennel seeds
• Red chilli, diced
• 100 ml red wine (optional)
• 1 tbp butter
• Olive oil

Method

1. Fry the onion gently in 1 tbp olive oil for about 15 min or until it has softened
2. Add the wild boar, mix well and cook on a medium heat until the meat has browned
3. Add about 1 tbsp fennel seeds, 1 tbsp chilli, frozen peas and cook for about 10 min, then add the red wine if using. Continue heating to reduce the liquid and boil off the alcohol
4. While the peas are cooking, blanch the brocoli in boiling water for about 3 min, drain and add it to the meat (this is just to take the bite out of the brocoli)
5. When the pasta is nearly cooked take some of the cooking water and add it to the meat mixture with a knob of butter. This starchy liquid will form the a nice sauce for the dish
6. Drain the pasta and combine with the meat. Let sit for about 5 mins so it can cool and the flavours can combine. Add a dash of olive oil to serve.